a full manuscript
from the winner!
So here are the details you've been waiting for. This contest is open to all writers, including previous winners. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to create a mind-blowing query that will knock the reader's socks off. We've studied the mechanics of queries in the past, so you know the drill. As mentioned earlier, there are prior posts on here that will give you a starting point. (Remember the Hero's Journey?) Plus, if you'd like to read some queries that just won a similar contest, agent Jason Yarn has posted his comments on Querytracker.
DO NOT SEND ANYTHING YET! ENTRIES RECEIVED BEFORE THE CONTEST OPENING WILL NOT BE INCLUDED. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW FOR SUBMITTING YOU ENTRY.
The following rules apply to this contest:
1. Your query must be for a completed YA or MG manuscript.
2. Maximum word count is 350.
3. Contest entries will open 9:00 a.m. Central Time Monday, April 12, 2010.
4. Contest entries will close at 9:00 a.m. Central Time Wednesday, April 14, 2010 or when 50 entries are received, whichever comes first.
5. Only one entry per person.
When the contest entry window opens, please do the following:
1. Email your entry to me at michaelvette@gmail.com.
2. Subject line should include QUERY CONTEST - YOUR NAME
3. You don't need to include a salutation.
4. Your email should begin with the TITLE and GENRE.
5. Paste your query below the title. (350 word maximum)
6. Include your name and email address at the bottom.
That's it! Meanwhile, if you'd like to post your query below for comments, feel free to do so. You can also visit Query Letter Hell at Absolutewrite and post it there for additional comments and suggestions between now and the time the entry window opens. If you don't know how to get there, leave a comment, and someone will give you directions. Try to get as much feedback as possible and polish, polish, polish.
Now, for the prizes!
Our Mystery Agent will select one winner and two runners up. The winner will be asked to submit their full manuscript to the agent for consideration. The two runners may submit their first 50 pages.Anything can happen from that point on.
Good luck to all. Feel free to post your query below if you'd like. Visit Absolutewrite.com for more help. And be sure to check back tomorrow for some related info that will be very exciting.
YA or MG -- well that leaves me out! Oh well.
ReplyDeletePlease tell me that you run or are going to run this contest every year or so. I have just started reading this website and my manuscript is not ready yet. Boooo !
ReplyDeleteLisa K.
ReplyDeleteWe'll have to pick another age group next time. We have a fairly even distribution of juvenile and adult writers. Take heart. Your turn is coming up.
Luna,
ReplyDeleteWe're planning on running a contest every couple of months, so check back often and see what's going on. And get busy and finish that manuscript. The ball's in your court, so to speak.
Wow, Michael. Wow. Wow. WOW!
ReplyDeleteI guess I know what I'll be doing all weekend. :) Way to motivate writers!
Yay !
ReplyDeleteI've already queried one agent there and entered a contest with Mary Kole (though I've substantially changed the ms and query since then), so looks like I'll have to pass on this contest. Maybe next time. Good luck to all who enter!
ReplyDeleteI have my query all ready, so I hope I get in. Thanks Michael. You motivated me to edit my query letter.
ReplyDeleteStina,
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't let that stop me. What if the agent is not Mary Kole? I'm not saying it's NOT Mary Kole, but I'm just saying what if it isn't? Just something to think about.
I'm always ready for feedback. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteFifteen-year-old Ben’s entire life—including his name—is a lie. With the belief that his father died twelve years prior, he and his mother have been living in an impoverished area of Memphis. When Ben spots a stranger outside his classroom window, little does he know about this slime-ball’s sinister dealings. Later that day, the mobster breaks into Ben’s apartment, shoots his mom, and kidnaps him to his father who is alive and ruling a mob in St. Louis.
Ben’s terrifying world of gangsters is not like the movies. BEING BOMPSY CARLEFFA means severe punishment for breaking rules, a lack of freedom, but worst of all, Ben is forced to diverge from his strong moral code. Corpse feet sticking out of the lawn and giving the yardman grief is mild compared to Ben accidentally murdering two people. This gives him a reality slap that leads him on a journey to save his skin—literally. Only later, this true hero discovers that his mother is alive and in danger. He must rescue his mom and break free from the mob or abandon all his high ethical standards to become a part of a crime family.
My 67,000-word completed YA novel mixes humor a shade darker than Korman’s, “Son of the Mob,” with the excitement of Haddix’s “Shadow Children” series. I teach writing and other subjects to children, am active in SCBWI, and recently completed an online course through The Institute for Children’s Literature. Thank you for your time and attention in considering BEING BOMPSY CARLEFFA, which is a multiple submission. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Joyce Paull Lansky